These brick are of special clays that produce colors from white to light creams and pastels. They may have face texturing from imprinting, drag scratching and splitting.
Because white colors are difficult to install and keep clean, some suppliers will apply a sealer to their products to act as a barrier against grout sticking to the surface (i.e. "grout release" agent). Check the manufacturer's specifications, especially with rough textured, light colored brick.
This pre-sealing does help considerably with installation cleanup. However, it also causes some problems and does not work as well as if Aldon "Grout Easy" was the only "grout release" agent present during installation. "Grout Easy" will not only keep the grout from sticking, it is thick enough to provide temporary "filling" of a rough texture, thereby keeping the grout out.
It is extremely risky to use acid, or even acid based cleaners, because acid can "burn" and discolor these light colors.
Protection:
If the manufacturer has applied a sealer, then the major problem is that this factory sealed product falls squarely within the category of "pre-sealing" with all the risks involved with that process.
If the material is already sealed (probably with something unknown and/or unavailable to you), and the grout/mortar now needs to be sealed. As you don't want the new sealer to dissolve or otherwise hurt the factory sealer, how do you use a sealer compatible with the one the factory used?
Use Aldon "Same Day Sealer" because it will not attack any other sealer known to us.
If this is an unsealed material:
Choose the sealer as with any other brick. However, consider that as a general rule, any solvent based sealer may slightly darken the color. If this is objectionable, try Aldon "Same Day Sealer" because it is "water clear" and should not effect the color at all. We don't know of any sealer that will have less effect on color than "Same Day Sealer".
Maintenance:
If this is a flooring material, you will want to use Aldon Lifeguard to keep the factory sealer from receiving any traffic wear. You don't want to get into a situation of needing to repair the factory sealer, as you will then have to deal with
redoing a previously sealed surface.
For a less glossy, usually invisible, coating see Aldon "Tile Cover".
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